Rising Extremism In Bangladesh Is becoming A Looming Security Threat For India

The intensity and rising frequency of security breaches from Pakistan has kept India occupied. Extremism though is shaping up on other hostile borders too in the name of so called ‘jihad’ or religious battle. Radicalisation of youth is targeted in the most economically deprived areas with the most recent being Bangladesh border.

Given the porous borders and similar cultural practices cross border infiltration goes unchecked and vigilance becomes difficult. The difficulty to manage the border infiltration makes it one of the most suitable grounds for terrorist activity.

Though there is a high possibility that the extremism fuelled in the name of religion in Bangladesh may be an act of organised terrorist networks funded through Pakistan and other extremist Islamic nations but that makes it all the more disturbing. As the people mobilised for terrorist activities are actually not the planners but mindless executers incepted with a faulty ideology, against India.

In a recent interview given by Bangladesh’s most-wanted terror duo, Salahuddin Salehin and Jahidul Islam alias Bomaru Mizan, who have declared terrorists by both India and Bangladesh authorities, has disclosed that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India has achieved considerable progress.

The worrisome fact is that this interview which openly declared that India is the next target for “for Hijrat (migration for religious battle) and Jihad” as a planning for “next caliphate”.

If his interview is analysed it is a clear message to extremist elements in India to join the terrorist outfit as a different version of ISIS with the same objective.

The interview is followed after several evidence suggesting the growing hold of the terrorist outfit in West Bengal. National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths learnt how Siddique ul-Islam alias Bangla Bhai came to west Bengal in 2005 for preparing the ground for the network that was exposed nine years later while investigating the blast in a house at Burdwan’s Khagragarh in October 2014.

As per National investigation Reports Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (banned militant outfit) members infiltrated though borders to escape Bangladeshi security forces and established a network in Nadia, Burdwan, Murshidabad and Birbhum districts.

They have already carried on propaganda in madrasas to radicalise vulnerable youth, imparted training in weapons, made IEDs at rented houses and took them back to Bangladesh.

With this interview the terrorist outfit has portrayed more confidence of its deepening roots in India. Muralidhar Sharma, deputy commissioner of police heading the Special Task Force of Kolkata Police – which recently nabbed six alleged JMB operatives were not aware of this interview, which raises concerns about the complex networking the outfit is working with.

Moreover the important point to note in his statement is that Salehin criticised the Syria-based Islamic State (IS), making it clear that he follows Al Qaeda, JMB’s original ‘role model’. Moreover he also spoke of Ghzwat ul Hind, which means the conquest of India, the saying which was also used by Myanmar terrorist infiltrators.

By analysing his interview it becomes pretty clear that the organisation has already established roots in India, it is not independent as it seems, it is targeting other countries such as Myanmar and most importantly it is well funded secretly.

In order to uproot the terrorist outfit from both India and Bangladesh in a limited time, it is important that we understand their networking and communication channels though both digital and physical investigative agencies.

Our failure to have limited information about the network from years is mostly due to high dependence on field investigation. We must now focus on their medium of information exchange to detect the real driver of the outfit.

I am a national security analyst. Before joining The Voice of Nation, I worked as a National Policy Researcher for a public policy think-tank. A Lady Shri Ram college alumni with a Political Science degree, I like creating public policy awareness around India’s homeland security. My writings are primarily inspired by the socio-political factors, both external and internal, affecting the safety of the country.

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